Sunday, April 24, 2011

Cyber Threats To Critical Infrastructure Spike

80% Critical Infrastructure companies faced large-scale DOS attacksAs cyber threats and vulnerabilities for critical infrastructure continue to rise, more than 40% of U.S.-based critical infrastructure companies still have no interaction with the federal government on cyber-defense matters, according to a survey of more than 200 critical infrastructure executives.

In 2010, according to the report, which was conducted on behalf of McAfee and the Center for Strategic and International Studies, 80% of critical infrastructure companies faced a large-scale denial of service attack, and almost 40% of respondents saw them monthly.

However, the global survey found that, even as these attacks rise worldwide, the U.S. government lags significantly in working closely with industry on cybersecurity issues as compared to some other countries. As compared to 40% in the United States, only about 5% of Chinese executives, for example, said that they had not worked with their government on network security.

The deficits extend from the frequency of contact to the depth of that contact, as well. In Japan, every company surveyed had been subject to a government audit of their security, whereas the number of companies in the United States subject to government audits hovered at close to 15%.